Well, what a place this is! Shagun and the gang instantly made me feel welcome and part of the amazing team they have here. Probably the best place I have volunteered with and I have stayed at many in the past! This is a great place to learn and exchange knowledge about natural buildings. Shagun’s passion shines through, and she is really open to talk about ideas and visions she has for Geeli Mitti.

I stayed for about 10 days here and really enjoyed helping with the eco construction. There are plenty more natural buildings planned in the future too which is exciting.

There is plenty to do in this stunning location with great hikes, wildlife, food and fun people to hang out with too. It was also a really enjoyable place to see how local rural Indians work their land, they are really happy people who love to see new faces.

This place is a must for people who have a passion for natural building and want to live the simple life 🙂

Ruairidh MacleodUnited Kingdom

Geeli Mitti is located 20kms from Nainital in the gorgeous mountains. It’s a truly exquisite location, surrounded by mountains all around and lush green everywhere. It also has a small stream flowing nearby, where we’d go dip our feet or bathe everyday, while we were there. Make sure to make friends with the gorgeous butterflies here, a whole lot of them will greet you all day.
The host Shagun is very generous and made sure all our needs were taken care of.
The cab drops you at a certain point, from where Geeli Mitti is a short 500m trek so travel light and enjoy your stay in its serenity.

I participated in the Earthbag building workshop in Oct 2016. The workshop was an experiential one where we got our hands dirty and did all that it requires to build a home.
The host team gave us a presentation on natural buildings and Earthbag buildings on the night we arrived and that got our basics in place before we started the build.
The location is absolutely gorgeous, with lush green mountains all around, so working here was a dream.
Shagun took extremely good care of all of us, making sure all our needs were met and that each and everyone had a comfortable stay. The town is far away so her planning was extremely meticulous and all our supplies got in before we needed them. The food was clean, simple and home cooked. There were certain basic rules like cleaning your own plates after eating and maintaining basic hygiene etc. but overall the atmosphere was quite chill.
The work was quite laborious but we were never forced to work outside our comfort zone. We’d get to the site, wear our gloves and get some groovy music on and get to work. The group was absolutely fantastic and everyone was very passionate, so all in all we had a ball and it never felt like work.

All our doubts and questions were answered while we were learning. Shagun was so stress free to work with that it felt like the cottage belonged to all of us and not just Shagun.
It was an amazingly satisfying experience and I am truly hoping to be part of the other workshops here.

Kanika Aswani
Mumbai

An opportunity to acquaint yourself with nature in a truly illuminating way. Being able to discover sustainable ways to exist in a place as beautiful as this is a very rewarding treat on multiple levels. Being able to get away from the noise and pollution is a rejuvenating overdose for your senses. The tranquility accompanied with the activities involved allow you to reflect on a spiritual paradigm which only a place like this can offer. Shagun Singh has really opened my eyes towards how to exist. Nature and God has given us everything but we strayed from the path.

Puja SinghDelhi NCR

Geeli Mitti is at this beautiful, quiet village in Pangot where Shagun is all set to do some great things. The first step of her plan which is to build earth houses and earthships is in progress currently and it was an experience to be able to be part of something that gives to nature, community and self altogether. Working with my own two hands to literally build a house, with mud and clay, it was a first for me and I for one know I’d want to go back for a longer time, not just to relish the natural beauty that surrounds in plenty but to learn more about earth builds, farming and more. Shagun has excellent knowledge about this new style of architecture and comes up with innovative ideas everyday to build things better. Will definitely care to go back and add value to the project and myself in turn.

Akanksha GambhirDelhi NCR

I had the pleasure of staying 2 weeks at Geeli Mitti learning natural building techniques and enjoying the serenity of its beautiful location! The host “Shagun” is incredibly involved in all the construction processes which was awesome to see and she also has a great deal of knowledge in the field which I took full advantage of! Also the local helpers were really friendly and added to the experience. The farm itself is in a beautiful location up in the mountains and I feel super privileged to have played a part in its development!!! I’ll definitely be back thanks legends!!!

Jeremy KingAustralia

A must visit for one looking out for #adventure#learning#peace….Guys the place is just divine surrounded by beautiful hills, bright sunlight,fresh air. Felt alive again, had great fun learning how to build houses using mother earth .. Would love to keep visiting the place again as still lot to learn and explore…

Syed Shah FaisalDelhi NCR

Just by hearing the word Geeli Mitti, one starts feeling homely and the visit was no less. Sweet smell of Mitti and the beautiful environment of that place makes you dream of it and want to go back. I had a lovely time along with Dash, my dachshund and we worked together building the enchanting Earthbag Cottage.

Usha SinghDelhi NCR

Had an amazing experience at the farm, building from my own hands, something I had never done before. It is a pristine area next to a flowing stream and definitely worth spending a week or two connecting to nature building a natural house. Amazing community vibe!

Aprajita VirmaniDelhi NCR

This place is full of nature at Geeli Mitti Farm, so peaceful. Constant sound of water and chatting with local villagers, it is fun!

Stanzin PunchokLadakh

Thank you Geeli Mitti for a memorable experience. The learning that I received has been enriching. The time and energy spent has made me realize my path, so thank you once again.
5 stars to Geeli Mitti!

Priyanka PahwaDelhi NCR

I went to Geli Mitti to learn about sustainability, self-sufficient and self/bio-construccion and I found that and also I found Shagun, a strong woman with a lot of knowledge about it who has very nice purposes of bringing to her sociaty another point of view about the posibilities in life, this things that exist but are difficult to discover by our selfs. I also found a beautifull rural place in the hymalayas mountains, amazing local workers and wonderfull volunters, it was one great month and a half that I spend there that is for sure one of the most deeper experience I ever had. I can’t forget to mentionate Momo, one of the beauty things that Gelli mitti brough to me, my partner of life, my little doggy, still I remember that old man with his grandson bringuin to me Momo after 5 hour walk in the mountains from where his home it was, I cant neither forget that strong but beautifull smelling of Momo, cow smelling, mountain smelling…

Now, back in Spain, I try to make my place in the forest together with Lolo, my friend partner and Momo, we are looking for a piece of land to bring to our lifes some essence of Gelli Mitti, its as hard as thrilling, I have some fears for starting from cero but in another hand I am so excited and full hope.

Mariam de Lastres

Spain

I was born to be an artist. But I couldn’t find any platform for this in regular rat race system.

When I came here for the first time I could feel the calling from mother nature to take me in her arms.

The beauty and simplicity of this place goes in hand in hand with vision of the place.

Geeli mitti farm is my dream l

Shambhu Kumar

India

Wow! I remember Geeli Mitti and I want to cry and come back! 🙂 It was an amazing experience to volunteer, i stayed there for a month and I really felt at home since the first day, definitely I miss everything: the people, the knowledge, the experience to build a house with your own hands and feet, the food and chai’s, the bhayias, the local people, the treks, the view, the mountains, drinking pure fresh water, the stream, jumping in the mud, the amazing stars every night, the bonfires, the parties, the whole team throwing cob balls and smashing, the laughs, to get dirty, to cut straw and hear all types of music (really ALL, excellent dj’s haha) and many more details that I could list…

So if you want to experience and learn more about natural building, Geeli Mitti is the place has all the tools and different techniques to learn in just one place (earth bags, bamboo, cob, reciprocal roof, living roofs… and there are coming more in the future)… Shagun (the founder) has in mind a great project which is growing every day and gives you ideas to build your own house and expand your creativity with the local materials that you have. I was a beginner in this kind of buildings but now I feel that I have the enough knowledge to start something at my place… thank you Geeli Mitti!! 🙂

Karla Rodriguez

Mexico

After an unforgettable stay at Geeli Mitti Farms, I’m back in Delhi and it’s hot, dusty, full of mosquitoes, the air feels heavy, the skies are the wrong colour and I can’t see any stars. My hands are itching to pick up a shovel and my feet are restless, with no hills to walk up and down and no cob to stomp. Yes, I’m missing Geeli Mitti.

Although I was there for less than ten days, it was an experience that will stay with me forever. To be able to get away from the madness of Delhi life, to shut out the incessant chatter of electronic devices, to breathe clean air, to be able to focus on things that really matter (at least to me), to find peace in the simple pleasures of life, to find joy in working with one’s hands (and feet), to know that one is learning something that can make a difference, to make new friends, to share stories, to laugh and to just be happy – that’s what my time at Geeli Mitti gave me.

What Shagun, the founder and force of nature behind Geeli Mitti, is doing is pretty incredible; in a world that has far too much wrong with it, it is heartening to see someone doing something that is so right. And doing it in a way that is accessible, that invites others to share in her knowledge and passion, and perhaps most importantly, doing it without turning into one of those stuffy crusaders who lose their sense of fun and humour.

This was my first experience at Geeli Mitti, but it won’t be my last ☺